Container

ABSTRACT

A lipstick container comprising a tubular casing, an elevator positioned and longitudinally movable in the casing, means for longitudinally moving the elevator in the casing, an iris at one end of the tubular casing comprising an annularly folded, flexible and stretchable, thin-walled tube with the flexible, thin-walled tube secured at one end to the casing. Rotatable retaining means secure the other end of the thin-walled tube within the casing and are adapted on rotation to cause the iris to open and close. Means operatively interengage the means for moving the elevator and the retaining means for sequentially actuating the iris and the longitudinally moving means.

United States Patent 191 1111 3,737,241 Gordon et al. 51 June 5, 1973 1 CONTAINER 2,486,073 10/1949 Sommer ..401/s9 3,010,572 11/1961 Mack ..401/59 [75] Inventors: William J- J. rd n; Carl n 3,366,363 1/1968 Hogan etal.... ..2s1 4 Marden; Charles R. Sperry, all of 3,493,308 2 1970 Sperry ..4o1 59 Cambridge, Mass. Primary Examiner-Lawrence Charles [73] Assignees: William J. J. Gordon, Cambndge, Attorney wolforeenfield & Sacks Mass.; Lawrence E. Fenn, Bridgeport, Conn.; Cavas M. Gob- 57 ABSTRACT hai; George M. Prince, Cambridge, Mass. l A hpstick container comprising a tubular casing, an [22] Flled: 9! 1972 elevator positioned and longitudinally movable in the [2]] Appl No: 224,994 casing, means for longitudinally moving the elevator in the casing, an iris at one end of the tubular casing Related US. Application Data comprising an annularly folded, flexible and stretchable, thin-walled tube with the flexible, thin-walled tube [63] commuat'omnpan of 7151103 March secured at one end to the casing. Rotatable retaining sss'sgsfjune 1966' and acon' means secure the other end of the thin-walled tube tmuat'on of 1970' abandoned within the casing and are adapted on rotation to cause the iris to open and close. Means operatively in- [52] U.S. Cl ..401/59 tax-engage the means for moving the elevator d the {5 Int. Clretaining means for sequentially actuating the iris and [58] Field 01 Search ..401/59, 60, 108; the longitudinally moving means.

[56] References Cited 11 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,986,484 l/1935 Schlueter ..25l/4 54 a 5m 1 1 1 11 5 .-t 52 i 1 30 ,1 20 l4 l2 32 PATENTED JUN 5 I975 INVENTORS WILLIAM J.J. GORDON CARLETON S. MARDEN CHARLES R. SPERRY CONTAINER CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS This application is a continuation-in-part of applicajunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

tion Ser. No. 715,013, filed Mar. 21, 1968, and Ser. No. 555,395, filed June 6, 1966, and is a continuation of application Ser. No. 3,290, filed Feb. 3, 1970, now abandoned.

SUBJECT MATTER OF INVENTION This invention relates to a container having a commonly operated, iris-type closure and elevator.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The present invention provides a container which is adapted for a wide variety of uses including, but not limited to lipstick and other stick-holding and dispensing containers for cosmetics and like products, such as deodorants, lotions, pomades, and stick powders. The invention may also be used to contain other types of products such as shoe polishes, marking crayons, and for display cases and the like.

The present invention will be described in an embodiment of a lipstick container although this description is purely illustrative, and is not intended to limit the scope of this invention or its applications.

An attempt has been made to combine in a container a commonly actuated elevator mechanism and iris-type closure. (See US. Pat. No. 2,969,142.) The construction illustrated in that patent is not commercially satisfactory for several reasons. First, the unit therein is too expensive to make as a lipstick container. Lipstick containers must be simple in construction and easy to assemble so that they can be inexpensively massproduced. Ideally, a lipstick container of a new and improved design should cost no more to make than lipstick containers heretofore available. In addition, the container illustrated in the cited patent does not provide an air-tight or liquid-tight seal at the iris and, furthermore, is susceptible to malfunction.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention is designed to overcome these and other objections. In the present invention, there is provided a container which may be fabricated as a lipstick container at a cost significantly no greater than the cost of presently available lipstick containers having separable caps. The present invention also provides a lipstick container which is simple to operate, provides an effective iris-type closure or seal, and is not likely to malfunction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved lipstick container of unitary structure which eliminates the need for a separate cap or closure and which effectively provides a means for sealing the interior of the container so that the container will not accidentally open while carried in a ladies handbag.

A further objection of this invention is to provide a lipstick container having a closure member which cannot come loose and which cannot pick up smudges of lipstick on its outer surface under normal conditions of use.

FIG. 1 is a vertical, fragmentary section through a lipstick container made in accordance with the preferred form of this invention, showing the lipstick in a retracted position and the iris closure or shutter open;

FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are elevational views of several components which are coaxially arranged respectively one outside the other;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the container;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a modification of one component; and

FIG. 7A is a fragmentary cross sectional detail illustrating a modification of the invention. 7

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The outer casing 10 is formed as a cylindrical, tubular shape having open ends. The upper end of the casing may be formed with an outwardly flared lip or ridge 11. This casing may be suitably decorated on its outer surface. A guide sleeve 12 (FIG. 2) is also formed as a cylindrical tubular member, having open upper and lower ends. The lower end of the guide sleeve 12 may be formed with an outwardly flared lip or flange 13 with the projection of the lip 13 preferably no greater than the thickness of the wall of casing 10. A slot 14 is formed in the wall of the guide sleeve 12. This slot has a vertical portion 15 and horizontal portion 16. The vertical portion 15 extends a major portion of the length of the guide sleeve, and stops short of its upper end and of the lip 13. The horizontal portion 16 is continuous with the lower end of the vertical portion 15, and preferably encircles the guide sleeve 12 over an arc of at least For convenience, this guide sleeve 12 may be formed as aseparate member; but, if desired, the guide sleeve 12 can be formed as an integral part of the casing 10 or, alternately, the slot 14 may be formed as an integral part of the casing 10 on its inner surface.

The guide sleeve 12 is coaxial with and is secured within the casing 10 with the outer surface of the guide sleeve 12 preferably in fixed facing relation to the inner surface of the casing 10. The upper edge of the lip 13 engages he lower edge of the casing 10, and preferably, the outer surface of the lip 13 is coplanar with the outer surface of the casing 10.

The retaining sleeve 20 (See FIG. 3) is formed of a cylindrical, tubular member open at each end with an annular shoulder section 21 projecting outwardly from the upper end of the retaining sleeve 20. The retaining sleeve 20 is formed with a vertical slot 22 extending over a major portion of the length of the sleeve 20 and tenninating at its upper end short of the'shoulder section 21 and at its lower endshort of the bottom of the sleeve 20. Slot 22 is preferably colinear and of the same diameter as portion 15 of slot 14. Preferably, the shoulder section 21 of the sleeve 20 projects outwardly beyond the outer surface of the sleeve 20 a distance equal to the thickness of the wall forming the guide sleeve 12. The retaining sleeve 20 is positioned coaxially within the guide sleeve 12 with the outer surface of the retaining sleeve 20 in facing, rotatable relation to the inner surface of the guide sleeve 12. The shoulder section 21 of the sleeve 20 extends over the guide sleeve 12 with the lower edge of the shoulder section 21 resting on the upper edge of the guide sleeve 12. Preferably, the outer surface of the shoulder section 21 lies in facing relation to the inner surface of the casing 10 near its upper end. The lower end of the retaining sleeve 20 extends downwardly and terminates in the same transverse plane as the guide sleeve 2.

A cam sleeve 30 (see FIG. 4) is formed of a tubular member which is open at its ends. The lower end of the cam sleeve 30 has a shoulder section 31 that is flared outwardly a distance preferably greater than the thickness of the wall forming the lower end of the retaining sleeve 20 but less than the thickness of the wall forming the retaining sleeve 20, plus the thickness of lip 13. A helical cam slot 32 is formed in the cam sleeve 30 with this slot 32 terminating at its upper end just short of the upper end of the sleeve 30 and at its lower end just above the shoulder section 31. The slot 32 is preferably the same width as slots 14 and 22. The upper end of.

cam sleeve 30 is preferably coplanar with the upper end of guide sleeve 12. The lower end of cam sleeve 30 extends below the retaining sleeve 20 and the guide sleeve 12 with the lower ends of these sleeves 20 and 12 resting on the upper edge of shoulder section 31. An elevator 40 (see FIG. is formed of a suitable tubular member which is open at its top and which may be either opened or closed at its lower end. The elevator 40 in the embodiment of the invention described contains a lipstick 41 with its lower end positioned and secured within the elevator 40. The elevator may be formed as a cup-like member so as to fully support and secure the lipstick 41. A boss 42 which may be formed from the wall of the elevator by stamping or pressing projects outwardly of the elevator 40. The boss 42 is preferably cylindrical in shape with a diameter slightly less than the width of the slots 14, 32 and 22. The height of the boss 42 is preferably greater than the combined thicknesses of the walls or wall members forming the slots 32 and 22 but slightly less than the total thickness of the walls or wall members forming the slots 32, 22 and 14. The elevator is coaxially positioned within cam sleeve 30 with the boss 42 projecting through slot 32, slot 22 and into slot 14. The elevator is longitudinally slidable in a vertical direction from a low position at the bottom of the slots, as illustrated in FIG. 1, to a high position in which the elevator is close to the top of the slots.

The iris closure includes a flexible, stretchable, cylindrical tube 50 having ends 51 and 52, with outer end 51 folded outwardly over lip 11 and secured about the periphery of the casing 10, and with the inner end 52 extended inwardly over annular shoulder section 21 of the retaining sleeve 20 and rigidly secured to the shoulder section by suitable means. The outer end 51 is secured to the casing by suitable means such as a retaining clamp 53 having a depending lip 54 and an inwardly flared lip 55. The end 51 of tube 50 may be compressed below lip 11 between the casing and the lower end or leg 54 of the retaining clamp 53, with an annular rubber ring or gasketing element 56 provided to form a permanent and tight seal. The inner ed of the tube 50 is secured to the inner surface of the shoulder section 21 by a retaining ring 58. The end 52 of the tube is folded under the ring 58 between its outer annular surface and the inner annular surface of the shoulder section 21 in a forced permanent fit. Other means for securing the ends 51 and 52 may be used provided these ends are fixed with end 51 rigidly secured relative to the casing 10 and end 52 rigidly secured to a retaining means, such as sleeve 20, within and movable with respect to the casing 10.

A knob is formed with a base 71 having an upwardly flared, annular side wall 72 connected by shoulder section 73 to an annular upper wall section 74. The annular upper wall section 74 is positioned with its inner surface in facing relation to the upper portion of the shoulder section 31 and with its upper edge abutting the lip 13 of guide sleeve 12. A ring 75 is coaxially positioned about the upper wall section 74 with the upper portion of the ring 75 lying with its inner surface in facing relation to lip 13. A screw 76 or other securing means is threaded through a hole in the ring 75 upper wall section 74, and into a hole in shoulder section 31 thereby securing the ring 75, knob 70, and cam sleeve 30 rigidly together so that rotation of the knob causes a consequent rotation of the cam sleeve 30.

In the operation of this device, the container is designed to sequentially actuate the elevator and iris shutter. When the shutter is closed, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the ends 51 and S2 of the tube 50 are rotatably displaced whereby tube 50 is stretched so that its inner wall is drawn tightly across the opening 80 in the container, with the tube inner wall converging in an iris shutter form to a converging point 81. The opening and closing of the shutter as well as vertical movement of elevator 40 is controlled by rotation of the knob 70. Rotation of the knob 70 causes consequent rotation of cam sleeve 30. Initial rotation of cam sleeve 30 from the position illustrated in FIG. 1, causes an initial movement of the pin 42 in a lateral direction. When the knob 70 is turned so that the pin 42 moves to the left as viewed in FIG. 1, it will be retained in its lowermost position because it is guided by and retained in the horizontal portion 16 of slot 14. As it is turned in this lowermost position, the pin 42 carries with it and thereby rotates the retaining sleeve 20. Since the inner end 52 of the iris tube is fixed to he shoulder section 21 of the retaining sleeve 20, the inner end 52 of this iris tube will be rotatably displaced with respect to the outer end 51 of the iris tube. This in turn causes a stretching of the walls of the iris tube 50 and a closure of the type illustrated in FIG. 6. The closure is quite tight and in fact converges at point 81 in a watertight seal. When the knob is moved so that the pin 42 moves along the horizontal portion 16 of slot 14 toward the vertical portion 15, the iris will open. The iris will be opened completely, as illustrated in FIG. 1, when the pin 42 reaches the base of the vertical portion 15 of slot 14. Continued rotation of the knob 70 exerts continuing pressure on pin 42 through engagement by helical slot 32; and since at this juncture it is free to move up the vertical portion 15 of slot 14, as the pin 42 moves upwardly coincidentally carrying with it the elevator 40 and lipstick 41, it is guided in slots 22 and 32. Since slot 22 is colinear with the vertical portion of slot 14, the iris will remain in an open position.

The construction illustrated may be varied for purposes of economics. Thus, for example, the iris tube 50 may be formed with annular ridges at its ends with these ridges being cemented to the casing 10 and retainingsleeve 20 in place of the ring 58 and clamp arrangement 53. If desired, tube 50 may be formed of a flexibly deformable plastic material with spaced longitudinal strips 90 of elastic material integrally formed with the plastic material as illustrated in FIG. 7. Additionally, the various components may be formed of metal-stamped components. The outer shell or casing may be integrally formed with or as part of guide sleeve 12. Thus, casing 10 may be formed with grooves or other channel-like means on its inner wall to define a guide such as slot 14. In such an arrangement, the casing 10 may be formed of a thin-walled material in which such guide means form a portion of the decorative arrangement on the outer surface of the casing as well as functioning as a guide means.

The tube 50 is preferably stretchable and formed as illustrated in FIG. 1 because such an arrangement is neat and keeps the iris well recessed or adjacent to the casing when in an open position. However, a (see FIG. 7A) non-stretchable iris 50 A may be used. In such an arrangement, the iris would have a loose configuration so as to permit sufficient material to be positioned over the opening when closed as illustrated in FIG. 6. The length of this loose material should be about twice the distance between the fixed portions of the tube 50 A, depending upon the actual diameter of the opening to be covered.

We claim:

1. A container for material comprising:

a tubular outer casing;

an elevator for reciprocally carrying the material in longitudinal directions within the tubular casing and having engaging means extending therefrom toward an inner surface of the tubular casing;

a cam sleeve having said elevator disposed at least partially therein for longitudinally moving said elevator and having means defining a slot for receiving said engaging means of said elevator, at least a portion of said slot extending at an angle to said longitudinal direction;

an iris at one end of said tubular casing comprising an annular, thin-walled member;

a retaining clamp having a peripheral wall for securing the outer end of the member against an outer surface of the tubular casing;

said retaining clamp also having an inwardly flared lip defining an aperture coaxial with and opening into the interior of said container;

a rotatable retaining sleeve disposed intermediate the tubular casing and cam sleeve, having the inner end of the member secured thereto, and having a longitudinal slot formed therein for receiving said engaging means;

and a knob at the end of said tubular casing remote from said iris, fixed to said cam sleeve and rotatable with respect to said tubular casing;

whereby rotation of said knob from an inoperative,

iris closed, position to an operative position sequentially causes an opening of said iris and a raising of said elevator.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein said tubular casing has an upper outwardly extending ridge against which said member is held by said retaining clamp.

3. The container of claim 2 comprising an annular gasket for fitting between the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the retaining clamp and the outer end of the member and disposed below the ridge of the casing to form a tight seal.

4. The container of claim 1 comprising a retaining ring of smaller diameter than the diameter of the retaining sleeve for securing the inner end of he member against an inner surface of the retaining sleeve.

5. The container of claim 4 wherein the inner end of the member is formed in a U-shape about the retaining ring.

6. The container of claim 5 wherein the member is non-stretchable and is secured with a loose portion intermediate its ends.

7. The container of claim 5 wherein the member is flexible and stretchable.

8. A container for material comprising:

a tubular casing;

an elevator for reciprocally carrying the material in longitudinal directions within the tubular casing and having engaging means extending therefrom toward an inner surface of the tubular casing;

a cam sleeve having said elevator disposed at least partially therein for longitudinally moving said elevator and having means defining a slot for receiving said engaging means of said elevator, at least a portion of said slot extending at an angle to said longitudinal direction;

an iris at one end of said tubular casing comprising an annular flexible and stretchable thin-walled member;

means securing one end of said member to said casa rotatable retaining sleeve having the other end of the member secured thereto and having a longitudinal slot formed therein for receiving said engaging means; I

a knob at the end of said tubular casing remote from said iris fixed to said cam sleeve and rotatable with respect to said tubular casing;

and a guide sleeve operatively interengaging by said engaging means said cam sleeve and said retaining sleeve, said guide sleeve including means defining a slot having;

a longitudinal portion,

and a transverse portion said transverse portion for enabling the relative r0- tational movement of said retaining means and said tubular casing thereby causing an opening and closing of said iris,

said longitudinal portion along with the slot in said cam sleeve for enabling a longitudinal movement of said elevator relative to said tubular casing,

whereby rotation of said knob from an inoperative,

iris closed, position to an operative position sequentially causes an opening of said iris and a raising of said elevator.

9. A container as set forth in claim 8 wherein said longitudinal and transverse slots form a L-shape and are connected.

10. A container as set forth in claim 9 wherein said transverse portion is at a bottom end of said guide sleeve.

11. A container as set forth n claim 8 wherein said cam sleeve slot is helical in shape. 

1. A container for material comprising: a tubular outer casing; an elevator for reciprocally carrying the material in longitudinal directions within the tubular casing and having engaging means extending therefrom toward an inner surface of the tubular casing; a cam sleeve having said elevator disposed at least partially therein for longitudinally moving said elevator and having means defining a slot for receiving said engaging means of said elevator, at least a portion of said slot extending at an angle to said longitudinal direction; an iris at one end of said tubular casing comprising an annular, thin-walled member; a retaining clamp having a peripheral wall for securing the outer end of the member against an outer surface of the tubular casing; said retaining clamp also having an inwardly flared lip defining an aperture coaxial with and opening into the interior of said container; a rotatable retaining sleeve disposed intermediate the tubular casing and cam sleeve, having the inner end of the member secured thereto, and having a longitudinal slot formed therein for receiving said engaging means; and a knob at the end of said tubular casing remote from said iris, fixed to said cam sleeve and rotatable with respect to said tubular casing; whereby rotation of said knob from an inoperative, iris closed, position to an operative position sequentially causes an opening of said iris and a raising of said elevator.
 2. The container of claim 1 wherein said tubular casing has an upper outwardly extending ridge against which said member is held by said retaining clamp.
 3. The container of claim 2 comprising an annular gasket for fitting between the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the retaining clamp and the outer end of the member and disposed below the ridge of the casing to form a tight seal.
 4. The container of claim 1 comprising a retaining ring of smaller diameter than the diameter of the retaining sleeve for securing the inner end of he member against an inner surface of the retaining sleeve.
 5. The container of claim 4 wherein the inner end of the member is formed in a U-shape about the retaining ring.
 6. The container of claim 5 wherein the member is non-stretchable and is secured with a loose portion intermediate its ends.
 7. The container of claim 5 wherein the member is flexible and stretchable.
 8. A container for material comprising: a tubular casing; an elevator for reciprocally carrying the material in longitudinal directions within the tubular casing and having engaging means extending therefrom toward an inner surface of the tubular casing; a cam sleeve having said elevator disposed at least partially therein for longitudinally moving said elevator and having means defining a slot for receiving said engaging means of said elevator, at least a portion of said slot extending at an angle to said longitudinal direction; an iris at one end of said tubular casing comprising an annular flexible and stretchable thin-walled member; means securing one end of said member to said casing; a rotatable retaining sleeve having the other end of the member secured thereto and having a longitudinal slot formed therein for receiving said engaging means; a knob at the end of said tubular casing remote from said iris fixed to said cam sleeve and rotatable with respect to said tubular casing; and a guide sleeve operatively interengaging by said engaging means said cam sleeve and said retaining sleeve, said guide sleeve including means defining a slot having; a longitudinal portion, and a transverse portion , said transverse portion for enabling the relative rotationAl movement of said retaining means and said tubular casing thereby causing an opening and closing of said iris, said longitudinal portion along with the slot in said cam sleeve for enabling a longitudinal movement of said elevator relative to said tubular casing, whereby rotation of said knob from an inoperative, iris closed, position to an operative position sequentially causes an opening of said iris and a raising of said elevator.
 9. A container as set forth in claim 8 wherein said longitudinal and transverse slots form a L-shape and are connected.
 10. A container as set forth in claim 9 wherein said transverse portion is at a bottom end of said guide sleeve.
 11. A container as set forth n claim 8 wherein said cam sleeve slot is helical in shape. 